Wheel or drum construction and packs therefor

ABSTRACT

The drum-like wheel is provided radially outwardly of its rotative driver hub portion with a circumferentially spaced series of axially elongated and continuous, keyholeshaped sectional slots or grooves. These parallel one another in the series; and each slot slidably and removably receives one of a set of like circumferentially spaced abrasive finishing packs or fills, said packs each including a forked clip member clamping a stack of abrasive sheets as part of the pack. The clips are solid in cross section, being extrusion molded, and each has a reduced width neck portion of optional radial dimension integrally connecting the forked portion of the clip with an integral, radially inner mounting portion of enlarged bead-like cross section, at which the clip and its sheet stack have an axially slidable mating interfit in the keyhole slots of the wheel hub. As thus mounted the clips have a fixed, non-pivotal relationship to the hub.

United States Patent Belanger 51 Apr. 29, 1975 [75] Inventor: James A. Belanger, Livonia. Mich.

[73] Assignee: Belanger, Inc., Northville. Mich.

[221 Filed: Feb. 6, 1973 [21} Appl. No.: 330,629

[52] US. Cl. 51/337 [51] Int. Cl. B24d 13/04 [58] Field of Search 51/330-337;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.271.551 2/1942 Hoover 15/183 X 2.474.063 6/1949 Newton 51/335 2.817.862 12/1957 Frazho et al.... l5/230.l6 X

3.541.740 12/1970 Radik 51/332 3.653.856 4/1972 Field 51/334 Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assismnl E.\'uminer-Nicholas P. Godici Attorney. Agent. or Firm-Cullen. Settle. Sloman & Cantor [57] ABSTRACT The drum-like wheel is provided radially outwardly of its rotative driver hub portion with a circumferentially spaced series of axially elongated and continuous. keyholeshaped sectional slots or grooves. These parallel one another in the series; and each slot slidably and removably receives one of a set of like circumferentially spaced abrasive finishing packs or fills. said packs each including a forked clip member clamping a stack of abrasive sheets as part of the pack. The clips are solid in cross section. being extrusion molded. and each has a reduced width neck portion of optional radial dimension integrally connecting the forked portion of the clip with an integral. radially inner mounting portion of enlarged bead-like cross section. at which the clip and its sheet stack have an axially slidable mating interfit in the keyhole slots of the wheel hub. As thus mounted the clips have a fixed. nonpivotal relationship to the hub.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures WHEEL OR DRUM CONSTRUCTION AND PACKS THEREFOR CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS My co-pending application, Ser. No. 155,733, filed June 23, 1971, now abandoned, discloses various embodiments of extruded metal or plastic abrasivemounting clips of a considerably different nature but the same general purpose as those of the present improvement. Another co-pending application of mine, Ser. No. 330,630, filed Feb. 8, 1973, discloses and claims a hinge-type fill or pack unit having an integral clip or related type pivotal mounting means generally similar to the fixed mount concept disclosed herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The finishing pack unit or assembly of the invention finds replaceable application on the hubs of various types of buffing wheels, polishing wheels, non-solid type grinding wheels, and other related applications for the rough or finish abrasive working, brushing, burnishing or polishing of metal or other rigid parts.

2. Description of the Prior Art Abrasive pack-type units of a most general nature and use similar to those disclosed herein are the subject matter of prior patents to Block, US. Pat. No. 2,804,730 of Sept. 3, 1957, Peterson, US. Pat. No. 2,984,053 of May 16, 1961; Block US. Pat. No. 3,058,269 of Oct. 16, 1962, and Burns, US. Pat. No. 3,533,198 of Oct. 13, 1970, but lack disclosure of structural features and functional attributes of the improvement described.

My US Pat. Nos. 3,455,068 of July 15, 1969, and 3,535,833 of Oct. 27, 1970, relate to rotary finishing tools having a replaceable finishing pack feature on which the present invention is in general an improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Said improvement contemplates a basic wheel hub of a relatively massive, one-piece nature, inexpensively produced, for example, by injection molding or by machining an appropriately pre-shaped blank of metal or plastic. Similarly, clip or equivalent pack or fill components each adapted to mount a stack of abrasive sheets are inexpensively extruded in quantity of metal or plastic, requiring only the severing of the extrusion into individual lengths for an axial sliding interfit in the keyhole slots of the wheel hub. The clips are thus easily and quickly mounted to the hub, being then endconfined by plates removably attached to the hub struc' ture, and are equally readily removed when worn and replaced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary exploded view in axial section on line ll of FIG. 2 of components of a typical abrasive wheel or drum pursuant to the invention, the pack or fill component being shown before assembly in an axial position relative to the hub corresponding to the position it will have as finally assembled to the hub;

FIG. 2 is a similarly exploded end elevation view, as from the line 22 of FIG. I, of the hub and pack components;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of the assembled wheel, being in a radial plane at to the wheels axis, the clip of the abrasive pack or fill being an embodiment proportioned for a partially seated relationship to the hub; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 3, but showing a vdifferent clip embodiment which is fully seated to the hub periphery.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate the partially seated and assembled wheel or drum of the invention, generally designated in FIG. 3 by the reference numeral 10. It comprises a unitary, relatively massive hub body 12 of a generally cylindrical, axially elongated nature.

It is contemplated that hub 12 be pressure-molded from a suitable phenolic or similar rigid-setting plastic or die-cast or conventionally machined of metal; and the hub has an axial bore at 13 where it is to be key or otherwise mounted to an appropriate driver shaft (not shown). Hub 12 at its outer periphery has a series of circumferentially equally spaced like keyhole-shaped slots or grooves 14 which parallel the hub axis and extend uninterruptedly throughout the axial length of the hub; and each such slot formation 14 includes at 15 a cylindrical inner bore portion opening radially outwardly to a circumferentially restricted or narrow outer neck or throat portion 16. These slots 14 slidably and fixedly receive mating portions (later described) of mounting clip or equivalent components of each of a series of like abrasive packs or fills, such as are generally designated 18 in the embodiment of FIGS. l-3.

The packs 18 will preferably be constituted of a stack of flexible abrasive sheets 19 of the sort described in my above-identified patents, by further preference being of sisal or cloth woven or in cord form, such as a uniwoven nylon Behr-tex" tampico. Abrasive sheets of a known slashed type are also contemplated. Each such stack is clamped in the pack assembly by an improved clip 20 pursuant to said embodiment 18 of the pack of the invention.

In the embodiments of both FIGS. 1-3 and FIG. 4 the clip is integrally molded one-piece of a solid crosssection extrusion of aluminum or other selected rigidsetting metal or plastic to afford at a radial outer portion thereof a pair of parallel fork arms 21 integrally connected medially to a radially extending and axially continuous and uninterrupted throat or neck formation 22 axially coextensive with clip 20. The neck 22 is of a width, in the circumferential sense, to fit slidably in a neck or throat portion 16 of a hub keyhole slot 14 as appears in FIG. 3; and the neck formation 22 terminates integrally and radially inwardly in a full axial length cylindrical and enlarged bead or pin portion 23 shaped for a sliding mated assembly in the cylindrical inner portion 15 of a keyhole slot 14.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the clips neck 22 is proportioned radially in a sufficient dimension that the clip arms 21 are located well outwardly in the radial sense from the periphery of the hub 12. Thus in the partially seated clip version 18 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the abrasive fills stack is correspondingly outwardly spaced from the hub. Yet the neck 22 in its sliding fit in the slot throat 16 affords a fixed and firm circumferential brace of the pack or fill in finishing, as appears in FIG. 3.

Staples 25 assist in clamping the sheet stack between the arms 21 of clip 20; and a pair of like end plates 26,

at least one of which is removably attached to the hub 12, as by restraining nut or like means threaded on the driver shaft to be drivingly mounted in hub bore 13 (as suggested in patent to Root US. Pat. No. 339,585 of Apr. 6, 1886). Such removable plate means restrains the clips from end-wise movement. It is seen that upon removal of one of the plates 26 any pack or fill may be axially slidably removed for replacement.

In the second embodiment of the pack, as shown in FIG. 4 and specially designated 28, the sole difference lies in the proportioning of the mounting clip. Accordingly, elements of the latter corresponding to clip features appearing in FIGS. 1-3 are designated by corresponding reference numerals, primed, and further description is dispensed with.

Thus the difference mentioned is simply in the fact that the clip throat or neck formation 22' is radially shorter than in the earlier described clip 20, to the extent that the connecting base of clip arms 21' lies in flush tangential contact with the periphery of hub 12. This fully seated pack version 28 affords the same fixed circumferential brace and restraint of the finishing pack, and maybe preferred for some types of operation over the longer throated or shanked form.

What is claimed is:

1. A workpiece finishing unit comprising fill material to be mounted in a position radially outwardly of the axis of a rotary driver structure, and a rigid unitary clip member for supporting and so mountingsaid fill material on such structure, said member being continuously and uninterruptedly coextensive in axial length with said fill material, and in a solid cross-section throughout in a plane at 90 to said axis as thus mounted, said clip member presenting a radially outer portion of generally U-shape having a laterally extending base and having a pair of outer, generally parallel and spaced apart forked arms between which said fill material is clamped extending outwardly from the side edges of said base, a radially inner, axially extending and transversely enlarged bead-like mounting portion of cylindrical configuration, and an intermediate solid neck portion integrally connecting said bead-like mounting portion and said radially outer portion being connected to the base of the latter midway between the side edges thereof, said neck portion being substantially narrower than said base so that said base projects laterally in opposite directions beyond the sides of said neck portion, said bead-like portion and said neck portion being shaped for a slidingly mating engagement with the driver structure, said outer, neck and bead-like portions being components of an extruded axially elongated length of stock.

2. The combination in a finishing wheel of a unit in accordance with claim 1, and a driver structure as therein referred to, said structure being provided with a plurality of like circumferentially spaced, parallel, axially extending and radially outwardly opening slots of generally keyhole-shaped cross-section, in each of which the bead-like mounting portion of a finishing unit is slidably mounted with a substantially mating fit, said slots being substantially coextensive in overall axial dimension with the units, said bead-like mounting and neck portions of said clip member being fixedly held in the slot against individual swing of the clip member relative to said structure.

3. The combination of claim 2, in which the radial dimension of said neck portion of the clip member is such as to locate the latters outer forked arms in substantially outwardly spaced relation to said hub structure.

4. The combination of claim 2, in which the radial dimension of said neck portion of the clip member is such as to locate the latters outer forked arms in radial engagement with said hub structure. 

1. A workpiece finishing unit comprising fill material to be mounted in a position radially outwardly of the axis of a rotary driver structure, and a rigid unitary clip member for supporting and so mounting said fill material on such structure, said member being continuously and uninterruptedly coextensive in axial length with said fill material, and in a solid cross-section throughout in a plane at 90* to said axis as thus mounted, said clip member presenting a radially outer portion of generally Ushape having a laterally extending base and having a pair of outer, generally parallel and spaced apart forked arms between which said fill material is clamped extending outwardly from the side edges of said base, a radially inner, axially extending and transversely enlarged bead-like mounting portion of cylindrical configuration, and an intermediate solid neck portion integrally connecting said bead-like mounting portion and said radially outer portion being connected to the base of the latter midway between the side edges thereof, said neck portion being substantially narrower than said base so that said base projects laterally in opposite directions beyond the sides of said neck portion, said bead-like portion and said neck portion being shaped for a slidingly mating engagement with the driver structure, said outer, neck and bead-like portions being components of an extruded axially elongated length of stock.
 2. The combination in a finishing wheel of a unit in accordance with claim 1, and a driver structure as therein referred to, said structure being provided with a plurality of like circumferentially spaced, parallel, axially extending and radially outwardly opening slots of generally keyhole-shaped cross-section, in each of which the bead-like mounting portion of a finishing unit is slidably mounted with a substantially mating fit, said slots being substantially coextensive in overall axial dimension with the units, said bead-like mounting and neck portions of said clip member being fixedly held in the slot against individual swing of the clip member relative to said structure.
 3. The combination of claim 2, in which the radial dimension of said neck portion of the clip member is such as to locate the latter''s outer forked arms in substantially outwardly spaced relation to said hub structure.
 4. The combination of claim 2, in which the radial dimension of said neck portion of the clip member is such as to locate the latter''s outer forked arms in radial engagement with said hub structure. 